DUSHANBE, May 13, 2013, Asia-Plus — The Moscow arbitral court in April this year considered a lawsuit filed by the Czech state-owned insurance, The Export Guarantee and Insurance Corporation (EGAP), against Tajikistan’s Open Joint-Stock Company (OJSC) Tojikcement (Dushanbe cement plant) and ruled Tojikcement must pay 2.5 million U.S. dollars to EGAP.
“Tojikcement, however, has not paid this amount yet,” Ms. Hana Hikelova, the chairperson of the PR department, EGAP says.
According to her, EGAP in 2006 insured a loan provided by the Czech Export Bank (CEB) to Tojikcement for modernization of the Dushanbe cement plant.
In April 2012, the Czech Embassy in Tashkent sent a letter to the Tajik Embassy in Tashkent, in which it expressed concern about unsettled debt of Tojikcement.
In February 2013, the Czech Embassy in Tashkent, which represents the Czech Republic not only in Uzbekistan but also vis-à-vis in Tajikistan, released a statement noting that financial problems of some Tajik enterprises is the main problem impeding trade relations between the two countries. “The main problem of further development of the Czech export is unsettled debt of Tojikcement,” the statement notes.
The Czech Embassy notes that EGAP has no opportunities to insure new export loans that impedes negotiations on delivery of equipment from the Czech Republic for investment construction and economic development in Tajikistan.
Established in 1992, EGAP is the Czech state-owned credit insurance company, of which the commercial arm was acquired by its subsidiary KUP in 2005. In 1995, the Czech Export Bank was founded as subsidiary of EGPA for preferential financing of export credits. In January 2005, the general meeting of EGAP decided to establish a subsidiary and transfer commercial insurance to its area of responsibilities. The subsidiary started its activities under the business name of Commercial Credit Insurance Company EGAP (KÚP) on October 1, 2005. The founding of the subsidiary was in response to stricter EU rules requiring a transparent separation of insurance with state support from commercial activities.
Tojikcement, which has four 600tpa kilns and two 300tpa lines, is the largest cement producer in Tajikistan. The plant has not been operational since the beginning of this year due to a lack of natural gas supplies.
Currently there are five cement plants operational in Tajikistan with a combined cement capacity of 1.3Mta. Last year, Tajikistan produced 235,000 tons, including 203,000 tons produced by Tojikcement.
